Bandung Week 12

Hello Again!

A lot of changes are happening in the Mission right now, which is what makes it more interesting. It is really nice to get along with all the other Missionaries, and learn from each one of them. Personal progress is an underlying theme for my Mission, because I experience change and progress almost every day. If that alone were all I experienced here, the entire Mission would already be well worth it. Here are a few highlights of this past week.

The beginning of the week was important for Elder Mangum, since he wanted to enjoy his last few days here in Bandung—his first city. We were able to visit a descent amount of investigators and members, but there were a few that we were not able to visit because they were too busy. But the few that we were able to visit were very grateful for Elder Mangum and his service here.

Thursday was pretty crazy because we had to get up at 3am. Elder Mangum took an airport shuttle to the Jakarta airport at 4am, which left me alone for a bit. I got my stuff, and took a 'travel', or big van to Jakarta around 6am. It was so strange to be alone for that entire time, but it was not for very long. I made it to the Mission Home, and was able to meet a lot of the Missionaries who were moving. More than half of the Mission was moving it seemed. Those of us who were training new Missionaries had a special meeting with President, which went very well. I picked up my new companion, Elder Panjaitan, from Medan. He is a great Elder, and I am really excited to work with him.

This was the last time we went to the Secretary school to teach English.
They have a long break/internship, so not many came. We had a fun time.

After coming back from Jakarta, we went right to bed. The next day was Elder Panjaitan's first day, and I really tried to make a good plan so that he had a positive outlook. We had District Meeting, and then taught an English class at the Secretary school for the last time. After that, we tried to visit an investigator, who said she could not meet because of being sick. We still had some plans, so we got going, but it started raining super hard. My companion did not have an umbrella, so we waited for a long time under a nearby restaurant until it calmed down. By that time, we had no time to go anywhere, since English class was about to start at the church. It went well, but I was a little sad that we were not able to teach on his first day.

The missionaries from my MTC group that were at Stake Conference

The next day, we had to go back to Jakarta because of Stake Conference. Saturday night was the adult session, and Sunday morning was the main session. It was really nice to see all the members from around the stake, and investigators as well. 

Elder Sadiyono and his aunt & uncle. He is now serving in Bogor.
It is so funny that he gets to see his entire family at Stake Conference!

We stayed at the Mission home on Saturday night, along with the Elders from Bogor. I was able to see Elder Sadiyono again, since he stayed in Jakarta as well. 

An amazing investigator of the Elders in Jakarta.
He is such a nice guy and one of the best investigators I've ever met!
He knew me from reading my blog.

The Sunday Morning session the next day was really good, and we were so happy to see Lauren, our investigator come. He had to leave his house at 2:30am in order to get to the church on Sunday morning for the bus to Jakarta. He even participated in the choir with us, which went very well. President met with him, and was very happy. After taking pictures with other Missionaries and members, we took a bus home with the rest of the members from Bandung. It was a lot of fun.

I am very happy to be serving here in Bandung, and I am glad to be training Elder Panjaitan. He really will help me stay focused and work hard until the end of my Mission. I will learn a lot from him. Thank you for all your support! Talk to you next week!

-Elder James

Me and the two Missionaries that I have trained or am currently training.
In the Mission, we call them our 'children' and we are their 'father'.

Bekasi Week 1

Hello Everyone,

I am still doing great here in Indonesia, and I continue to learn lots about the culture, people, language, and most importantly, the gospel. I am now at the point where I can have a good, complete conversation, and it has really helped me with the work. I hope that all of you are also doing well, and that you continue to help the Missionaries in your own wards. Members are the most important resource for Missionaries, and without their work, we would not have as much work to do.

Bishop Jatmiko's family and the Greenways
all came to see Elder Lee and I off, which was so nice of them!

I am now in my new city! After four and a half months in Solo, the time came for me to move. I moved on Wednesday, after shopping and preparing my things. I have bought and received so many things in Solo, so it was really hard for me to pack all my things. Luckily, here in Indonesia, they do not care about how many carry-on items one has, so you can literally take a ton on the plane. I checked my suitcase, and took a backpack, side bag, duffel bag, and two plastic bags full of things on the plane. It was ridiculous! The Greenways and Bishop's family took us all to the airport, and said goodbye. I will miss all of them so much! Then Elder Lee and I travelled to Jakarta!

My new companion in Bekasi is Elder Mulyono

We first went to Senopati, where the Mission home is, and I transferred some things from my bag I left. I got a bunch of deoderant from America, which was really nice! Then Elder Mongan and I took a taxi to Bekasi, which is not very far away from Jakarta. Bekasi is like a different country in comparison to Solo and Semarang. We do not use bikes, and it is ridiculously crowded. I really do miss Solo, but I am excited to have new experiences here, and learn lots. My new companion is Elder Mulyono, who is from Solo. He is a great Missionary, and really works hard. I have been exhausted every night so far, which is a great sign of how hard you are working. He has been out for a very long time, and I might be his last companion.

We had a fun experience teaching English at a school. We taught for a really long time, and there were two different classes. One was just boys, and they were really rowdy. But then Elder Johnson suggested a game, and we split them up into two groups. I offered the winning team some gum from America. They all became super quiet, and they worked super hard in the English game. It was pretty funny how desperately they tried to get one stick of gum each. 

Me and Elder S. Martoyo, my trainer in Semarang

Stake conference for West Java was this week as well, and all Missionaries went. We left on Saturday, went to the session that night, and stayed over at the Mission home in Jakarta. I saw many other Missionaries and members again which was great. 

MTC District reunion - Elder Walton, Elder Rogers and Elder Johnson

I saw Elder S. Martoyo who was my trainer, and I also saw a few Missionaries from my MTC group. Staying together at the Mission home was a blast, and it was great to talk about our different experiences so far. 

Sugiyantos

I saw the Sugiyanto family as well, which was awesome. It was strange when I remembered that they had just met with my family. It was a good conference, and I was glad that we could go to it. 

Well, I am out of time, and I apologize that this one was a little shorter than usual. I am having a good time here with the other Missionaries in Bekasi, Elder B. Johnson, Elder Mongan, and Elder Mulyono. We are working hard here, and I am having some different, but great experiences. Thank you all once again for all your thoughts and prayers.

Sampai minggu depan! Semoga anda terus untuk beriman dan maju di dalam Yesus Kristus dan Kurban Tebusan dia. 

-Elder James

Mas Parno, our investigator in Solo that has a baptism date!

Mas Parno's Family

Saying goodbye to Agus

Bishop Jatmiko and his family took us out to
eat at a really cool restaurant for my last meal.

I will really miss the famous Pak John and his food! 

I loved my Solo companion, Elder Martoyo.
I was with him for such a long time and he taught me so much!